


Marvel Collections

by RebelxPen



Series: Marvel Verse [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types, Wolverine - Fandom, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Blood, Character Death, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Multi, PTSD, Romance, Trauma, corrupt government, playful couple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-03-15 17:52:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 7,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3456374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebelxPen/pseuds/RebelxPen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of Tumblr prompts (mostly Fosterson). They will be random, from all points in time both canon and head canons, and often, they will be about Jane Foster and her interactions with the other people of Marvel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thor's Death

"No." Firm. Hard.

It wasn’t true.

“No, you’re wrong.”

They just had coffee a week before. They were making plans to go see that museum he wanted to see-the wax one in London. She had seen him face impossible things, seen him take hits that no other living thing could live through and he came up swinging. Thor couldn’t just pass away.

Her heart began to race, beating faster, and faster as she glared back fiercely at the team. The Avengers had come together to tell her, but she didn’t feel any comfort in their presence, she felt crowded, ganged up on. She needed to get away, needed to breath because, suddenly, her lungs didn’t seem to work.

She stood, her legs knocking her chair back with a clatter that jerked a start out of her. Her head shook in denial, her hands trembled, "You’re wrong, this is just a sick joke—" She said again, "Where is he?" Advancing, she moved to grab her jacket, to brush passed them, but Tony was there to intercept her, an arm coming up to block her way and she spun on him, her small fist beating against his chest like an anvil.

"Don’t touch me! He’s not dead! He’s out there and you left him! He just needs help!"

He took the punches, his hands coming up to frame her shoulders as the others hung their heads, or shifted uncomfortably in their own grief. “He’s gone, Jane,” Tony said, his voice betraying surprising emotion of his own. He grieved, he didn’t like to show it, but who could pretend the loss of a man like Thor didn’t touch everyone?

Jane’s fists worked together, she struggled, but then she sagged. He wasn’t dead.

She never told him—never had the guts to tell him— "Where is he?"


	2. Jane Foster -- Childhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr Prompt of Jane as a young kid with her parents. The prompter wanted to see the relationship between my particular Jane Foster muse and her parents, what her home life was like when she was little, and this is what came of it.

"Mommy, mommy, mommy!" Jane’s squeaky little voice echoed through the apartment as her little bare feet padded down the hardwood floor of the hall. The exaggerated roar of her father was not far behind, his large hands slapping on the floor as he crawled after her. "He’s gonna eat me!" 

The little girl came dashing around the corner and threw herself into her mother’s arms with a giggle, stealing a glance over one shoulder and through a tangle of messy hair at her father as he appeared in the doorway, rearing up on his knees and clawing at the air like a bear. Her mother laughed and hugged her as Jane hid her face in the crook of the woman’s neck. 

"No you don’t! She’s in the safe zone! You can’t eat little girls who are safely hugged, Mr. Bear!" Mrs. Foster scolded, wagging a motherly finger in her husband’s direction. 

"Aw, but I’m so hungry! Maybe I could just eat her toes? She has ten! She can share, right?!" He grinned and made a grab for the tiny toes dangling in the air and Jane squealed, pulling them up and wrapping her legs around her mom’s waist. Mrs. Foster slapped at his hand, laughing and twisting Jane away protectively. 

"No, no! She’s safe all the way to her toes! Now you just go back to your cave, you beast." 

The bear-father dropped his head and pouted just in time for Jane to peek and see, “Oh, all right…humph!” and he padded off around the corner, coming back on his own two feet and smiling. “There. The bear is gone. You, however, should be in bed, now, young lady.” He reached for Jane as she reached for him, trading parents and nuzzling into his arms for a hug. 

"I’m too excited to sleep…" She groaned and let her head fall back, her wavy hair hanging in a mess as she dropped all her weight.

Mrs. Foster returned to her project, grading college anthology papers with a warm smile as she listened to the little exchange. “But if you don’t go to sleep, you can’t wake up.” Dr. Foster went on to explain, taking Jane’s little hand in his and dancing her around the room. “And if you don’t wake up, then you can’t come with me to work tomorrow…and if you can’t come with me to work tomorrow I’m going to be completely lost and all of my work will be worthless because I don’t have my helper with me.” 

Jane smiled and tried to dance along with him, despite her feet being nowhere near the ground, she simply moved her shoulders to match his steps, flicking her hair dramatically as she pretended they were at a fancy ball from one of her bedtime stories. The logic, however, caused the little girl to pause. 

"But, but I still wanna come!" 

Mrs. Foster looked up and gave Jane that look that all mothers give, “Well, then, you better try and sleep, hm?” 

Jane pouted, her lower lip sticking out and her arms sagging heavily as her father held her. “But you said scientists don’t need to sleep…”

Her parents laughed, “No, we told you about Albert Einstein who supposedly only slept for three hours a year. But he was a grown man, and not a six year old little girl,” Mrs. Foster replied. “Besides, he had crazy hair. You don’t want to be exactly like him.”

Jane sighed and dropped her head on her father’s shoulder, playing with his tie thoughtfully. “I want to be like him, but I also want to be a ballerina, and take pictures of stars like daddy.” 

Dr. Foster laughed and kissed her head, giving her a squeeze as he smiled at his wife. “That’s a wonderful dream, and you absolutely can. You could be anything you want to be as long as you put your mind to it. —But, you also need a good night’s sleep to help you grow up big and strong or you’ll be too sleepy to dance or take pictures. You might be able to have crazy hair like Einstein, though. You’re halfway there already.” He jostled her a little, making her giggle, but her head remained on his shoulder. “I’ll make you a deal, okay?”

Mrs. Foster rolled her eyes, he was such a sucker for those big brown eyes of Jane’s. 

"A deal?" Jane asked, curiosity bringing her head up. 

"Mhmm," he nodded solemnly. "You can stay up and have a cup of hot chocolate, but as soon as we finish that, straight to bed. You can pretend it’s coffee like mommy. Deal?" 

Jane bounced in his arms and hugged his neck, squirming to get herself down. “Deal! I’ll get the marshmallows!” 

He let her go, watching her run off to the kitchen and turned a sheepish smile on his wife who merely shook her head. “You’re too soft. She’s going to be so spoiled.” 

"She already is," he said, crossing over to her and leaning down to frame her in with a hand on the table and her chair, "But then, you said the same thing about yourself when I was conning you into marrying me, remember? I think it worked out all right, don’t you?"


	3. Jane Foster--1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dystopian Tumblr Prompt. Jane Foster hiding out from the government with Logan Howlett/Wolverine.
> 
> TW;; Blood, implied character death, angst all around

Wolverine was not the type of person she would normally associate with for several reasons. Mostly, it was because they were too alike in their stubbornness. They argued like cats and dogs, but somehow they had developed this odd sort of camaraderie, looking out for each other, trying to find a way to set things right and get people to safety and out from under the rule of the current government. 

Jane wasn’t as good at hiding as Logan, well, hiding wasn’t the right word—keeping a low profile was a better choice. Logan was always talking about stealth, blending in, going unnoticed, but Jane had a big mouth and a short fuse and she hated bullies. So, when she saw a law enforcement officer bullying some teens, she had stepped up and mouthed off. At the time, it hadn’t been bad enough to get detained, but she had a feeling she had been followed back to the little house at the outskirts of town. 

With Logan still out getting supplies, Jane was alone when they arrived. They came as a squad and shot a pulse-blast at the house, causing the glass of the windows to burst. Jane threw up her hands to protect her face, a shard slicing her palm just before she turned and ran to hide. As the voices of the squad came closer, shouting orders for what to do with her, Jane hid in a little closet under the stairs. 

Clenching her bloody fist, she rested her head back against the wall, breathing hard and trying not to make a sound as her heart thundered in her ears. In retrospect, she should have listened to Logan. Now she’d never see him again—even if he was the best there is at what he does. Even if he did try to come looking for her. Turning her face to the right, Jane saw the white-washed wall of the closet and swallowed her tears. She had to leave him a message. 

His mutation would let him sniff out everything that happened here, which meant he’d smell the cut on her hand. Acting quickly, Jane took a finger, dabbed it in the bloody palm, and wrote her note in blood on the wall. 

"Logan—they came while you were gone.

Don’t let them get you, too. 

I’m sorry. 

Thank you for every—” the note was cut off, the blood trailing down in a scribble and drips as the door jerked open and a man grabbed her by the leg, pulling her out. She grabbed at the floor, at the walls, at the door, her bloody handprints everywhere as she screamed and thrashed. Fear took over, Jane panicked. She fought, scratched, kicked, clawed, and just as the butt of a rifle came at her face, she screamed.


	4. Steve Rogers--1984(1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve Rogers in a similar setting to Jane Foster, except Logan isn't in this one. Beware the pain to come. Please pay attention to tags and warnings.

He stood shackled, his face beaten and bruised badly enough that even with his super healing, he’d be hard to recognize. They got him fair and square, lured him in with a trap, and Steve had gone willingly, fearing they’d make good on the threat and kill whoever they had prisoner already if he didn’t go along. A life every hour, they’d said. 

It wasn’t until they had him in custody and locked in a steel, bullet proof room. There was no way out of this one, and he knew there’d be at least one person bringing down the world to get Steve out. 

Today was his last chance, surrender, call off the rebellion, or face execution as a public statement. Maneuvering him in front of the microphone, cameras and lights aimed at him like the firing squad waiting for him just off to one side, Steve raised his eyes and looked straight into their scopes, a muscle jerking in his jaw as he folded one wrist over the other. 

"I am Captain Steve Rogers," he began, his voice rasping under his wounds, but clear, hard. "Most of you know me as Captain America." 

Flashes went off, stealing photos to commemorate his defeat. He could see the headlines now: Captain America: Remaking the Red White and Blue

He went on. “I have been encouraged to tell you all what our government is doing for us, how they only want the best. I have been urged to share the beauty in patriotism and loyalty—” something hardened in his eyes, and he imagined the scope of those cameras were the eyes of the people. 

"—But that’s a lie." 

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd, and he saw and heard the soldiers tense and their boots shuffle. He didn’t have much time. 

"This government wants loyalty and patriotism, but they’re the ones who betrayed this country—they have betrayed the people—" His shoulders squared and he stepped closer to the mic, his shackled wrists raising to his shoulders. "This is what they have waiting for you, for your children! This is what America has become! I have been making a stand, I have been speaking out for peace, and patriotism as it should be, and this is what I received for it!" 

Orders were being barked to shut him up but the cameras stayed on him. Men grabbed his arms, jerked him toward the wall a few feet away where the firing squad waited. 

"I have friends, and no matter what happens to me, they’ll lead the fight on—they’ll be there for you, for the people, but you need to be there for them!" They slammed his back against the wall, and Steve winced, pain flaring. 

The men took aim, Steve’s face hardened again, while his eyes softened. He had one more message. One for a specific person, one he knew would be watching.

"You’re the hero. You’ve got the fight in you. I love y—" the guns fired, and his knees buckled.


	5. Steve Rogers--1984(2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve Rogers again. I got this prompt twice for him. This one is written in first person, and Steve working with Logan, because who doesn't like that team up in the comics? If you didn't know Captain America and Wolverine teamed up in the comics, you need to reevaluate your life choices and go track that crap down.

That morning, I woke up and knew something was different. There was something in the air as soon as I opened my eyes. The apartment was silent, still, so quiet that the incessant dripping of the sink faucet all the way in the kitchen felt loud and abrupt. Slowly, I sat up, the blankets bunching around my hips. There were tell-tale signs to show me I was alone. Logan’s hat and boots were missing from beside the door across the apartment—I could see from the open doorway of my room. The scent of stale stogies wasn’t choking me, or mingling with the scent of fresh coffee. He’d gone out, probably for groceries. We both ate like beasts.

But that wasn’t the problem. Standing, I went to the window, blankets falling away, leaving me clothed in only my striped cotton pajama bottoms. It was almost domestic enough to make me forget I was Captain America, and that I was trying to start a revolution against a raging maniac that had taken over my country. It was nice to imagine a normal life with a family, but that life wasn’t for me. Logan and I had fought together for years against the tyranny of imposing dictators, but we were getting older—at least I was, however slowly, and the older I grew, the more I knew fighting wouldn’t solve anything.

I remember that day because the streets were as quiet as my apartment. No children played on the curb, and the shops hadn’t opened from what I could tell. The sirens started to wail. The soldiers came around the corner soon after. The only surprise I felt was the fact that I wasn’t surprised at all. For the last few days I had expected this, and if he was honest, so had Logan. Anticipating what was coming next, hearing the heavy boots stomping in unison nearby, I quickly snatched a piece of scrap paper and a pen and scribbled a note down in messy writing.

Before I could turn to get dressed, the front door burst open, and a smoke bomb was throne in. Pepper spray filling the room—choking me, my eyes on fire. I already couldn’t see, but I hadn’t anticipated a flash bomb, and now I was not only blind, but deaf. These men were prepared. They knew how to take me down. Hit hard, hit fast, keep me stunned and disoriented. The next thing I knew, the all too familiar feeling of the butt of a rifle hit between my shoulderblades, sending me down hard.

I was dragged out into the street and the squad circled me, beating me before I had a chance to fight back. I felt their feet kicking at my ribs, my gut, my back. One boot connected with my face and I saw stars. Looking up, I forced my vision to focus through the sting of the gas, and I decided how this was going to go. Fighting wouldn’t solve anything, violence begets violence, and this country was bleeding out with it. For once in my life, I would surrender.

Logan,

If you’re reading this, they’ve taken me.

Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. The fighting

Has to stop. It won’t ever end. The people need something to shake them awake.

They need to understand that things cannot stay the way they are. They’ll need someone to look to, someone to lead them when the time comes to rise up.

I don’t know of any better man for the job than you. I’m sorry it had to be this way.

\- Steve


	6. Make a Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane was given a choice: If, in a life or death situation, you could only save one, who would you choose? Thor? Or Erik Selvig? This is her response.

It was cruel—it was a cruel question and it took her breath away. She’d nearly lost them both already, more than once, and she didn’t think she would be able to live through actually ever losing one of them. But she had to answer the question, had to make the choice, and it came down to the data. The facts. 

Thor was strong, he was strong in body, heart and soul, and he cared for Erik. He cared for everyone and everything he came in contact with. That’s why he was worthy, that’s why he was able to wield his hammer and risk his life to save everyone. 

Erik wasn’t a young man anymore, and Jane had known him all her life. She’d grown up with him stopping by for supper at her family’s house. She remembered him debating with her parents over coffee. She remembered sitting through his class lectures when he visited her university to speak. And most of all, she remembered him stepping in when she lost her parents. 

Erik was her family, and if she was ever placed in a situation to make such a horrid choice, it would be because Thor had acted true to his nature and done something to put himself in danger to give her the chance to save Erik. Thor could save himself, and if he couldn’t, there would be no way he’d go down without giving her and Erik a chance to live—without saving them first. 

"I have to choose Erik," she said at last. "Thor would want me to choose Erik."


	7. Helen Cho meets Jane Foster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous Tumblr Prompt. "Helen Cho meets Jane Foster, Thor's girlfriend."

Thor liked to joke that Jane was like the weather. She came into a room like a cool breeze, or she came into a room like a storm--either way, you always noticed her. So, when Jane made her first visit to Avengers Tower, it was no surprise that she walked into the communal lounge area in mid-argument with someone over the phone, her intern in tow.

  
“No, I’m telling you not to go near that place until I can get there with my equipment to redirect the magnetic--” whoever was on the other line must have interrupted her, because she paused and stopped to rub at her forehead, sighing to get control of her temper. Why do you call me if you’re not going to believe what I tell you? I’ll be there by five pm tomorrow. Just leave it alone.”

She hung up the phone and sighed again, rolling her eyes at her intern who merely shrugged and jerked her chin toward the group of people standing around the bar across the room. Jane cringed and smiled, tossing up an awkward wave as she crossed the distance to meet Thor halfway as he came to meet her.

“Jane!” he greeted, smiling warmly as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

Whatever tension Jane had felt, she let it melt away with a smile as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a hug. “At least somebody’s happy to see me today,” she said back, placing a relieved kiss against his cheek.

“Of course!”

Thor spun her once, stealing a laugh from her before setting her back down again and smoothing a hand over her hair. Behind them, the team groaned.

“For a hammer swinging berserker, you’re a huge sap, you know that?” Tony quipped with a sniff.

  
Jane peered around Thor’s arm and arched a brow, pointing a small finger at him. “Hey, he makes it work.”

Chuckling warmly, one arm still wrapped around Jane, Thor grinned and turned his attention elsewhere, letting Jane come to his defense.

“Darcy!” he beamed, reaching out his free hand to clap Darcy on the shoulder.

The intern grunted and grinned, laughing, “Easy on the merchandise, muscles. You’re only supposed to manhandle your lady,”

Thor placed a kiss atop Jane’s head, then smiled at the group as he turned to face them with her. “Come, there are people I wish for you to meet.”

He led the girls forward to join the others, and held out a hand to the team. “Jane Foster, allow me to officially introduce you to the Avengers. You know Tony, and then there is the brave Captain Rogers, the ingenious Bruce Banner,” they all nodded with a smile, reaching out to shake Jane’s hand in turn except for Tony who smirked and winked instead. “The cunning agent Romanoff, and skilled Agent Barton.”

Beaming, and standing a little straighter, his large hand settling on Jane’s shoulder as he brought her forward to stand before him. “Everyone, this is the brilliant Jane Foster,”

At that moment, a door slid open to their left and all eyes turned to fix on a woman dressed in surgical gear stepped into the room with a tablet in hand.

“Agent Romanoff, I would like to run another--Oh,” she paused, suddenly noticing all eyes on her and smiled briefly. “Hello?”

"Ah!" Thor squeezed Jane’s shoulder, “And this is Dr.--” but Jane was moving away from him, her face lighting up like a child at Christmas.

  
“Dr. Helen Cho!” she finished for him, rushing up to greet the other woman. “I just read your most recent article about stem cells and your invention of the Cradle. I’m a huge fan,” Jane held out a hand and, though taken aback, Dr. Cho took her hand and shook it.

“Thank you! I’m flattered, Dr. Foster,” she cast her eyes back at the team and they all just shrugged.

“Scientists. It’s a small world.” Tony muttered. “Everybody knows everybody. You give a person a couple degrees and they think they’re the Captain of the Football team.”

Helen rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Jane, “I’ve wanted to meet you for quite some time, as well, your work on the convergence and Einstein-Rosen Bridges are breathtaking. Are you in town for long? Maybe we could—“

“—Have coffee?” Jane interjected. “We could trade notes, I have so many questions about your work, especially after Thor told me how you fixed up that injury that Natasha had the other day. Seriously, incredible, incredible work…”

The women continued to chatter, quoting each other, their hands still shaking between them and Darcy just flopped down on the couch behind the Avengers. “Better pop some popcorn, guys, we’re going to be here a while.”

No one could tell if Helen Cho was disappointed to learn that Thor was not single, and for the next hour, no one could steal Jane’s attention away from the good doctor. The two women were enthralled with discussing their work, and Jane insisted on a demonstration of Helen’s cradle. Darcy could only laugh and shake her head as Thor sank into the couch beside her,

“You should have known better than to bring her into a building made of science, that was full of scientists.”

“You are right,” he sighed, watching the two women chattering within the glass walls of the lab. “However, I did not expect to have her attentions stolen away quite so thoroughly. Not even on Asgard were her attentions so captured, and she wandered off to get lost twice…We had dinner plans,” he chuckled.

Laughing, Darcy patted his arm, “Not all science is created equal, big guy. Don’t worry, she’ll get hungry and need to eat eventually.”


	8. Thor and Jane: Matchmakers

“Look at them,” Thor said, leaning his face closer to Jane’s ear. They sat on a couch in the Avenger’s lounge while the others milled about chatting with one another, Thor’s arm draped over Jane’s shoulders. “Look how he makes her laugh.”

Jane snickered, her arms folded over her chest, her shoulder leaning into Thor’s side as her eyes followed Fandral the Dashing as he led Helen Cho to the bar. Jane had heard how the good doctor had a crush on Thor, but she never really bought it.

“I see your friend being a flirt as per usual,” she joked back, giving Thor a nudge.

“Oh, come now, Jane–” Thor laughed, but Jane interrupted him, lifting her chin to find his eyes, though she was mostly seeing him upside down.

“Don’t come now me,” she laughed back. “Are you really trying to tell me that Fandral-three-girls-on-each-arm is going to want to settle down for a relationship with one Midgardian doctor? She’s like me, except she can physically create tangible representations of her work that live and move. Could you imagine me if my research could come to life like that?”

Thor’s brows rose and he tilted his head thoughtfully, the expression mingling with dread, “I do not have to imagine it,” he admitted. “I have seen it first hand. Whether you create it or not, your work finds a way of giving you the physical experience you seek, and typically it leads to explosions or battles that rival many of my own.”

Jane elbowed him and Thor made a show of wincing, allowing her the reprimand.

“I’m not that bad,” she muttered around a smirk.

“No, not always,” he admitted. “But that is not the point. I believe Fandral and Dr. Helen Cho would be good for one another. He would bring her out of her work to enjoy the world around her, while she would bring about a new, more serious sort of adventure for my friend,” he tugged Jane closer and twisted in his seat to look at her. Bringing up a hand, he cupped her cheek and ran a thumb over her cheekbone. “Why is it so laughable that opposites might attract? Is it not so with us?”

Jane felt her heart quicken and her cheeks warm with a blush. He had a way of turning her to mush, but this time, he also happened to have a point. She sighed, and her eyes tore away from the bright blue depths staring down at her as the pair in question laughed more sincerely than before.

“Okay,” she said begrudgingly. “Maybe you’re right.”

Thor had to bite down on his cheek to keep from laughing. “I am sorry, but could you say that again? I don’t think I understood you. Did you just say that I was right?” he teased.

Jane tried not to smile, she did, but there was no use, so she reached up and tugged his beard before giving him a kiss, nipping at his lower lip for the sake of vengeance. “Don’t get used to it.”


	9. Abnormalities--Post TDW

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane suffers from PTSD and other after affects of having the Aether in her post The Dark World.

Darcy was worried. She was so worried she hadn’t even found it in herself to crack a joke about Jane’s new lifestyle choice. Ever since Jane showed up at her apartment earlier that week after breaking up with Thor, Darcy had done her best to help the scientist figure out what her next step should be. Ever since her trip to Asgard, Jane had been different. 

She was always weird, but now she was just…she was almost manic. 

“Jane,” she said one day as Jane scanned her skin again for any readings that might be different, as if she feared she were radio active. “You really should try to get some rest. It’s been days.” 

“I’m fine, Darcy,” she huffed, scribbling down her findings. “I’ve got to figure this out. I still don’t feel stable since the aether was taken out of me. There might still be a piece stuck in there, or maybe it just altered my chemistry somehow—I ju–”

She stopped talking, her voice trailing off as she closed her eyes and opened them again to stare at the wall, thinking.

“You just…what, Jane?” 

Jane looked at her as if only just noticing her. “Huh?” 

“You were saying something and then just stopped.” Darcy replied, worried as she came closer. “You keep doing that, you really need to sleep.” 

Jane blinked once, confused, and then just shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said more firmly. “You’re just distracting me. Now, I’m sorry, Darce, but you have to let me focus.” 

Darcy frowned and caught her lower lip between her teeth, “Fine. But at least eat something. I left some food on the counter. You just have to eat it. I’m going out and I’ll be back in a few hours.” 

Waving her off, Jane carried her journal to the kitchen and grabbed half a sandwich, chomping down on it without another word. Darcy sighed, shaking her head, and then grabbed her coat and left.


	10. Say Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still suffering from the after affects of the Aether, Jane decides she needs space and time to figure things out, and hopefully fix herself. She decides to say goodbye to Thor.

She remembered the moment the aether entered her body. She remembered the way it felt, the way it burned through her skin and wrapped around her bones, and most of all she remembered the way it cried out in her mind. It was amazing that something so liquid could be so alive, and it pressed against the edges of her humanity like a box that was bursting at the seams. 

Her skin crawled with the memories, but her mind ached with them. The aether had never been silent. It pushed against her mind and will, pushed her toward Malekith–toward its master–in a relentless, desperate need to be part of him again. It felt like she was experiencing everything through a fog, through a red haze while running a fever that burned through her. 

And then it was all gone, and she had herself back again. It was like reality came flooding in, drowning her as she felt everything all at once. Seeing Thor again, Frigga dying, watching Thor hold his brother while Loki died in his arms…how it felt when Thor almost died in that battle…and then she remembered how it felt for those two days that he was back in Asgard without her.

Her head swirled with guilt, and pain, and her body felt used up and thrown away. She still ached. Her bones felt tender. She couldn’t sleep. But she couldn’t get better when she was distracted by her emotions. She had to come at this logically, and as much as she cared for Thor, she knew she couldn’t recover while letting herself hide in what they shared.

And it wasn’t fair to pretend with him, to pretend she was okay and rely on him to keep her that way. He had his own grief to work through. Not to mention she had to figure things out about who and what they were supposed to be to each other. She lost herself in loving him, she couldn’t function when he was away–and that wasn’t his fault, it was hers. 

She’d never learned how to manage her emotions. She was all or nothing, and that wasn’t healthy or fair to anyone. She had to rescue herself, this time, and in doing that, it was necessary to say goodbye.


	11. Thor's Grave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane at a monument erected of Thor after he was announced dead. She doesn't handle it very well.

“I still won’t believe it,” she said, staring straight ahead at the monument the Avengers had erected. “I hate this thing. It doesn’t look like you. It’s too hard, too cold…You were always so war—” 

Her voice choked in her throat, her eyes burned with tears, but she refused to acknowledge them enough to reach up and wipe them away. She just kept staring at the lifeless eyes of the statue staring back at her, trying to breath around her constricting heart. 

“You’re not dead. You can’t be. You always come back—” she finally had to take a step forward, rage twisting with her grief as her heart battered against her ribcage. She gulped, afraid it would beat itself right up out of her throat. “You had to do it, didn’t you? You always have to take a risk—you did it in New Mexico, you did it in England—” 

Gritting her teeth, she stumbled forward until she could plant her feet and look up at the marble stone, “You never let anybody help you—you always think you can do it all on your own and now…” 

The world was spinning—her world was shattering—but this awful marble statue stood strong, looking down at her with its stony gaze. It was a mockery, it was a fraud. It wasn’t warm enough to be Thor. 

“—you’re not coming back this time, I can deny it all I want, but its true,” the tears streamed down her cheeks like the rain he would never let fall on her. “You thought you could do it alone, and you were wrong…and now I’m still here!” 

She kicked the base of the statue and screamed through her teeth, shoving at the muscled thigh with useless effort. “What am I supposed to do now? What if I can’t do it alone?” 

Exhausted, gritting her teeth to dam the sob that tried to escape, she spun and sank down with her back against the marble as the tears flowed freely. 

“I don’t want to do this alone.”


	12. 5 Times in Love: Fosterson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 small one shots that track Jane falling in love with Thor

1\. 

He was arrogant, and potentially more stubborn than she was, but when he looked at her, it was the same way she looked at an equation she couldn’t figure out, or an anomaly she hadn’t seen before. It took her by surprise, it made her pause, it made her thoughts slow down and speed up all at once because nobody had ever looked at her that way before.

And then, that night up on her roof in New Mexico, after they’d both risked arrest, he gave her back her journal and when she explained just what she was doing in this desert of a town, he didn’t laugh. He didn’t look at her as if she were crazy, or tell her she was being unrealistic. He had smiled and when she tried to brush off her own work—for once actually doubting herself even for the briefest moment—he sat with her and connected the dots to her scrambled thoughts. 

And when they looked at each other, for the first time in her life Jane felt as if someone was really seeing her. 

2\. 

He could have gone, could have escaped with his friends, but he didn’t. He stayed, and it was Jane’s turn to watch, instead of be watched. Something about the way he frowned, the way he gave the orders for what his friends should do that made Jane’s stomach sink to her toes. Ever since he’d come back with Erik that night something was wrong, different, she’d known it when they spoke about her work on the roof, but she couldn’t place it. 

She saw it now, though. She saw the sadness in his eyes, she heard the heaviness in his tone, and though she hardly knew him, she knew what grief sounded like, and loss hung over him like a cloud. When he tried to make them all leave, run to safety, ice cold fear gripped her by the throat and she couldn’t—she wouldn’t leave him behind. 

“I’m staying with you,” she insisted, stepping closer even as everyone else stepped away to obey him. “I’m not leaving.” 

And somehow, rather than urge her to go, he touched her shoulder and some of that ice melted. It wasn’t until she saw him flying through the air that Jane felt something more, something else. 

“You’re safe,” he gasped.

She couldn’t hide the tears, “—I’m safe,” she replied. “You’re going to be okay.” 

But his eyes closed, and for that brief moment, she’d thought he was gone, and the loss of what could be—the loss of him in the world was one of the most unfair tragedies she’d ever felt. 

3\. 

He had to go, he had to do the right thing, but he promised to come back. When he kissed her hand, Jane’s heart lurched and she knew it wasn’t enough, that if she didn’t kiss him, she’d regret it forever. So she did, she rushed up, half climbing his shoulder to reach him as she crashed their teeth together. 

It was all teeth at first, she was out of practice, and the only reason he still had teeth at all was probably because he wasn’t human. But he took charge, he softened it, and together they found a rhythm that was just theirs, and they sealed the deal. 

He’d come back. 

And she’d wait for him.

4\. 

Days went by and turned into weeks, which turned into months, until two years were creeping by and Jane felt like she was experiencing the five stages of grief. He’d gone to face his brother—the one that tried and nearly succeeded in killing him. He’d made her a promise, and he kept the one that he’d made about returning her things, so why would he break the one about coming back? 

Everyone acted like he lied, or as though he’d died, but Jane refused to believe it. He wasn’t dead, he just needed help getting back, and she could do that. She would do that, and nobody was going to stop her. But one year turned into two, and with day after day of no results, or any progress at all, Jane tried less and less, and the worst part of it all was that she’d barely known him for three days and she felt as though she’d lost herself. The way he’d looked at her, really looked at her, she was afraid she’d never find that again, and if he was dead, maybe she could have done something to help…maybe she should have offered to go along with him…

…Or maybe she was still that gullible teenage girl that really believed the star quarterback had wanted to take her to prom, only to end up with egg on her face in the end. 

All she knew was one way or another, she wanted him to come back. 

5\. 

They both knew loss, and watching that shadow fall over his face after the death of his mother and brother had broken Jane’s heart. They had gone through hell together, a life time of trouble from the day they met to now, and yet they’d barely spent two full weeks together. How much she felt for him was terrifying, and she knew it was probably not healthy—or even logical, but it was real. She didn’t know how she knew it, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she loved him. 

Those two days when he was back in Asgard were torture, she didn’t sleep, and she stress-ate everything in sight, but when he came stepped out of that rainbow, she could see it in his eyes, he was coming back for her. He stalked toward her without missing a beat, without hesitation, and Jane met him halfway. This kiss was different, it was new, it wasn’t that rushed desperate goodbye she’d attacked him with in New Mexico, and it wasn’t the tender searching question that they’d shared on Asgard. This was a assurance that he had kept his promise, it was a promise of her own that she was here, it was a new beginning, and for as long as she was able, Jane wanted to help chase the shadows of his grief away. 

Even if she had a storm of her own brewing inside.


	13. Thor and Jane: Caregiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor takes over Darcy's job of making sure Jane takes care of herself between work. He leaves her a note to find when she takes a break.
> 
> \---- The note was tucked under the notepad, cursive and elongated writing displaying evenly written words on a scrap of paper. There is an enormous bowl of fruit in the fridge, waiting to be eaten. Breakfast is important, even if you will most likely find this at four in the morning it is still breakfast. If you wish to argue against it feel free to wake me, if you wish to thank me feel free to wake me as well. I love you.

Jane found the note only because his pretty cursive writing was a stark contrast to her hurried chickenscratch. For someone assumed to be more warrior than anything, Thor had beautiful hand writing, and Jane found herself keeping every little scrap of paper he scribbled on and storing it away in a little box. This one little note she’d be keeping for a while, because as she read it, her smile slowly crept across her face and melted her, sufficiently distracting her from her train of thought. 

She’d been working for hours, and as she looked up at the clock, she realized it was going on 5AM, so he was right, she should probably eat something. Rather than argue, or eat alone, she took the fruit from the fridge and carried it into their bedroom where she climbed up into bed with the mountain of a man still snoring away. Shuffling up the mattress, Jane kissed his cheek and tucked herself into the curving spoon of his hip and leaned back as if sitting against the couch and stabbed at the first piece of fruit with her fork. 

“Bossy,” she muttered affectionately around a bite of strawberry.


	14. A Bored Scientist is a Dangerous Scientist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane has nothing to do, and Thor's asleep.

She literally had nothing to do. Her work was in a stasis, scans running, emails pending, and until the following month, there would be nothing new to document. This happened sometimes, and until today, Jane hated it with a passion. It was like the universe was forcing her to take a vacation, and Jane had no idea what to do about that. Not until today, that is. 

Emerging from her makeshift office in her apartment, Jane followed the sound of the deep breathing and light snore that came from the couch in the living room. The television was playing quietly, some old gameshow rerun that Jane couldn’t place, and Thor was sitting up, his head lolling back and his arms on either side of the couch. He’d fallen asleep, the tv remote in his lap, and Jane couldn’t resist the urge to grin as an idea sprang up in her mind. 

Carefully, she tiptoed into the kitchen and got a bowl of whipped cream out of the fridge and silently padded back to where his hand lay open over the back of the couch. She scooped a light glob of it out of the bowl, filled his hand, and bit her lip to keep from laughing as she took one of his small braids between her fingers and brought the end of it up to tickle at his face. 

His cheek twitched, and a soft groan rumbled out of his chest as he frowned. Jane ducked instinctively to hide in case he should open his eyes, but when he just went still again, she pressed her lips together and repeated the process, tickling the end of his braid under his nose, and lightly up his cheek. 

Thor grunted again, and this time he shifted, and Jane went still.

Holding her breath, Jane tried one more time and Thor’s large hand came up, flying through the air and slapped over his face, smearing the cold whipped cream all over his bearded face. 

Jane let out a sound, somewhere between a laugh and a squeal and scrambled on all fours for balance as she bolted to the other side of the room. Thor looked around, leaping to his feet, sleep still clinging to him as he looked for her. Mjolnir flew to his hand as he tried to process what had happened between waking, and the sound she’d made. 

“Jane, are you—” but his eyes landed on her, took in her smile and the way her laughter shook her shoulders, the way she hugged her stomach and leaned against the wall to hold herself up, and then he licked his lips to taste the cream all but dripping from them. 

His eyes narrowed playfully as he tried his best to hold back laughter of his own, “You little minx!” 

The hammer was set down and he took a large stalking step forward. “You dare attack the mighty Thor while he sleeps?” 

"I always wanted to try that..." Jane, laughing so hard that tears poured down her cheeks, could only hug her stomach and laugh, “I totally dare!” she replied, hardly able to breathe. 

“So be it, then, my lady,” he growled and stomped closer as she slid herself against the wall, further away from him. “You have brought war down upon your own head!”


End file.
